Cited by 2,210Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic DiseasesAdipose Tissue and MetabolismCardiovascular Disease and Adiposity

Adipokines: inflammation and the pleiotropic role of white adipose tissue

Open access
Trayhurn, Paul, Wood, I. Stuart·2004·British Journal of Nutrition

Abstract

White adipose tissue is now recognised to be a multifunctional organ; in addition to the central role of lipid storage, it has a major endocrine function secreting several hormones, notably leptin and adiponectin, and a diverse range of other protein factors. These various protein signals have been given the collective name ‘adipocytokines’ or ‘adipokines’. However, since most are neither ‘cytokines’ nor ‘cytokine-like’, it is recommended that the term ‘adipokine’ be universally adopted to describe a protein that is secreted from (and synthesised by) adipocytes. It is suggested that the term is restricted to proteins secreted from adipocytes, excluding signals released only by the other cell types (such as macrophages) in adipose tissue. The adipokinome(which together with lipid moieties released, such as fatty acids and prostaglandins, constitute the secretome of fat cells) includes proteins involved in lipid metabolism, insulin sensitivity, the alternative complement system, vascular haemostasis, blood pressure regulation and angiogenesis, as well as the regulation of energy balance. In addition, there is a growing list of adipokines involved in inflammation (TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, transforming growth factor-β, nerve growth factor) and the acute-phase response (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, haptoglobin, serum amyloid A). Production of these proteins by adipose tissue is increased in obesity, and raised circulating levels of several acute-phase proteins and inflammatory cytokines has led to the view that the obese are characterised by a state of chronic low-grade inflammation, and that this links causally to insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. It is, however, unclear as to the extent to which adipose tissue contributes quantitatively to the elevated circulating levels of these factors in obesity and whether there is a generalised or local state of inflammation. The parsimonious view is that the increased production of inflammatory cytokines and acute-phase proteins by adipose tissue in obesity relates primarily to localised events within the expanding fat depots. It is suggested that these events reflect hypoxia in parts of the growing adipose tissue mass in advance of angiogenesis, and involve the key controller of the cellular response to hypoxia, the transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor-1.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1079/bjn20041213

Cites

86 of 86 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Relative hypoxia in AT mediates a cascade of events leading to increased apoptosis and low-grade inflammation in obesity.

    “relative hypoxia in AT mediates a cascade of events that lead to the increased apoptosis and low-grade inflammation seen in obesity”

    From Effect of Exercise Training on Fat Loss—Energetic Perspectives and the Role of Improved Adipose Tissue Function and Body Fat Distribution (2021) · cites this paper as Trayhurn and Wood, 2004

    In “Why inflammation in obesity: a response to hypoxia?” (page unavailable), the paper proposes that expanding adipose tissue may become relatively hypoxic and trigger an inflammatory response. The Conclusions (page unavailable) likewise call hypoxia a possible trigger, not an established cause. Neither passage supports the claim that this cascade increases apoptosis. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Adipose tissue is an important endocrine organ that expresses various cytokines and regulates energy homeostasis, blood pressure, immune function, angiogenesis, mechanical shock protection, and thermogenic function.

    “Currently, AT is characterized as an important endocrine organ present in the body, related both to the expression of various cytokines and to the regulation and coordination of energy homeostasis, blood pressure, immune function, angiogenesis, mechanical shock protection, and thermogenic function (Prins, 2002; Trayhurn and Wood, 2004).”

    From Physical Exercise-Induced Myokines and Muscle-Adipose Tissue Crosstalk: A Review of Current Knowledge and the Implications for Health and Metabolic Diseases (2018) · cites this paper as Trayhurn and Wood, 2004

    The opening section describes white adipose tissue as an endocrine organ that secretes hormones and other protein signals; the adipokines section links those signals to energy balance, blood-pressure regulation, angiogenesis, and inflammation. The opening section also mentions mechanical insulation, which is consistent with protection from physical shock. It mentions thermal insulation, however, not thermogenic function, so that part of the claim is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Obesity and inflammation are significantly related.

    “considerable evidence suggests that obesity and inflammation are significantly related [163,486,575,581,642,647-664]”
  • In three healthy volunteers, 120 mg iron per day for one week did not change circulating CRP, leucocyte counts, or urinary neopterin.

    “In a small study involving three healthy volunteers who received 120 mg Fe/d for a week, there were no changes in circulating CRP concentration or leucocyte counts, or in urinary neopterin concentration (725) .”
  • The adipose tissue of obesity shows abnormalities in producing several adipokines that may separately affect insulin resistance and/or modify atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk.

    “in addition, the adipose tissue of obesity exhibits abnormalities in the production of several adipokines that may separately affect insulin resistance and/or modify risk for ASCVD.34”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

3 of the 89 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Trayhurn, P., & Wood, I. S.
Affiliations
University of Liverpool (GB)
Corresponding author
Trayhurn, Paul
Venue
British Journal of Nutrition
Published
2004-09
Volume
92
Issue
3
Pages
347-355
ISSN
  • 0007-1145 (ISSN-L)
  • 1475-2662
OpenAlex
W2130764919
Cited by
2,210
References
89
Citations by year
2026: 34 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 66 · 2022: 93 · 2021: 79 · 2020: 91 · 2019: 96 · 2018: 81 · 2017: 97 · 2016: 99 · 2015: 119 · 2014: 140 · 2013: 164 · 2012: 153
FWCI
14.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • British Journal Of Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Buckingham E-Archive of Research (University of Buckingham) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • European Commission
  • University of Liverpool
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Disease and Adiposity
Keywords
adipokines, white adipose tissue, adipose tissue endocrine function, adipocyte secretome, inflammation, obesity, low-grade inflammation, acute phase response, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, hypoxia, HIF-1, angiogenesis, leptin, adiponectin, inflammatory cytokines
MeSH terms
Acute-Phase Proteins, Adipose Tissue, Hypoxia, Humans, Inflammation, Terminology as Topic, Obesity, Proteins, Cytokines, Adipocytes

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review